Event ϟ The Center of the Western World: End

[empirestategods]

Who: Camp!
When: Sunday Evening
Where: Camp!
What: A big surprise for when you get home!
Warnings: Blood. Fighting. Pain.

This weekend was all fun and good news for the most part. At least, it went a lot better than it could have gone for the parties involved. With a good portion of the camp coming out of it not being killed, and probably tired from avoiding monsters in the city, it’ll be nice to come home to the quiet camp.

Except on Sunday evening, as the bus pulls up to the camp, a plume of smoke is spiraling into the sky behind the line of the trees. Chiron, of course, informs the campers who can fight and fight well that they’ll need to and the ones who can’t to stay on the bus.

The camp is a disaster, but a quiet one, with the majority of the damage having been done already. The armory is in flames, the fields smoldering near it. Angry looking pigeons sit in the trees, watching the campers hungrily, and a roar alerts them all. Dozens of the original Angry Birds divebomb which campers have dared brave leaving the bus. These aren’t just any pigeons, but Stymphalian birds, and the campers will note that not only are their beaks made of metal, but their feathers are just as dangerous. There are at least three dozen man-eating birds attacking whatever they can find, tearing at clothes and skin and going for eyeballs whenever they can.

But that isn’t the biggest issue. The biggest issue is the monster with the body of a lion, the face of a man and the tail of a scorpion--if a scorpion could shoot multiple venomous spikes at whoever the hell it felt like.

Between the birds and the beast the campers have a lot on their hands, and when the wreckage is finally searched, they’ll find it’s worse than they expected. Luckily, they were all armed, so the damages at the armory are relatively minor. The strawberry fields are destroyed, the insides of the cabins have been ransacked, and part of the Big House’s roof has been completely torn off by who the hell knows what. That, alongside the camper’s injuries, is probably not the best way to start off the summer.

Because the camp borders can’t be crossed by monsters, unless a god or a demigod lets them in.

Comments

Open - AND TERRIBLE PLANS!

[17thangel]

Maria looks at Chiron and glares, pulling her goggles down with that "I'm not crazy, I'm a combat pilot" look that H.M. Murdoch of the A-Team frequently had.

"I got a better idea, the noncoms can move back and hide. We get some bowmen on the bus and we're a lot more mobile. I mean its on the ground but I think I can figure out how to move this thing around well enough to take those monsters by surprise. Take maybe 15 minutes with a few spanners to move the seats to reenforce the walls."

[little_lost_lizard]

Ssilissa gives her a look, though it's hard to tell behind her own goggles, which she's put on on the basis that metal feathers in the eyes would not be a good thing. The darkened lenses make them look just a bit like bulging eyes.

"Did you actually bring any sp- you know what, never mind." Anyone who suggests things like that probably does have spanners on her person. "Where do you propose we move the people who don't fight to, exactly? And have you seen this thing? We're only more mobile than we would be on foot in terms of speed - we're not going to outmaneuver the manticore, let alone the birds. Where do you need to go so fast that it isn't better to dodge the monsters than ride the bus there?"

She gestures at the walls. "Besides, seats or no seats, I've seen beakers with thicker sides. If this was a ship I wouldn't fly it between two docks, let alone anywhere useful. This is not exactly a battleship. We should have the people who can't fight on the bus and getting away fast while the fighters hold the monsters' attention."

Some Athena kid should probably tell Ssil to cool it and form a sensible plan, because this probably isn't an argument that's going anywhere useful.

[17thangel]

"Pull back to behind the hill, the edge of the so called barrier they can't in theory pass through. Either they butt up against it or its nonsense like all this other magic. That and yeah, the walls suck, but concealment is better than nothing to get to some place with better gear cause knives aren't what you fight big monsters with."

She shakes her head.

"You wouldn't fly it because you have too much sense. Given our lack of anything sense is a liability at this point."

[vedaandme]

"And does anyone actually have these tools to do this with?" After all, they couldn't very well go about altering the bus if they didn't have the tools to actually carry it out. He looked doubtful. "Unless you plan on making an attempt to reach the bus garage..." Because that wasn't a much better idea, either.

[17thangel]

"Its better than sitting around waiting to die, isn't it? I don't like this passive hostage nonsense, not one damn bit!"

Open

[dragon_blossom]

Umi's already heading outside - she doesn't expect it to hold up against mythical beasts forever, and she can't fight on it either. This could be bad. She brought daggers, expecting subtlety to be more important than being fully armed, and now they're in for a fight where they're the ones outnumbered. "I'm heading out - we probably don't want to all huddle up together, but I better not catch anyone trying to fight alone either!"

Re: Open

[capuletguarddog]

"Who put you in charge?" Tybalt growls, his knife in his hand as he tries to push his way out of the bus. Granted, a single dagger against crazy birds-of-steel, but Tybalt's never been one to fight wisely. He's not stupid though, he keeps his back to the solid defense of the bus even as he lashes out at the creatures.

[dragon_blossom]

Oh boy she was just WAITING for someone to say that. Hooray for knowing people. "I'm not in charge, I'm telling everyone how to not die like idiots!" She's fighting defensively until there's enough of a push for them to actually get somewhere, swiping at birds and feathers to defend herself.

open!

[hououji]

[Blondie isn't the sort to be afraid of battle. She's seen a lot of monsters before. And while she's not confident this will work, she's determined enough to try. she is, the moment she's off the bus, nocking an arrow, drawing her bow and shooting down one of the notpigeons. Another dives for her, and she's thankful for the thick lenses of her glasses, or she might have lost an eye. As it is, it only managed a long, shallow gash on her face. She swats it away with her arm, but its feathers tear through her jacket, and blood stains her sleeve.

She really needs to learn to prepare more than a dozen arrows. She won't even be able to make a dent in a third of them without running out. And that's if she hits every one. And she's confident she can, being a daughter of Apollo.

She sets her sights on the archery range. If she can just break through over there while the others are fighting, she'll be able to pick up enough arrows to at least keep them at bay, right? Range will be difficult for those wielding swords, but a bow can catch one of these things in flight, at least.

The manticore, however, she has no damn idea how to deal with.]

Try not to touch them! [To whoever's listening, anyway, she'll give a warning.]

[17thangel]

Maria sticks her head out of the bus and looks at Fuu.

"How many of those things do you think you can take out with your bow?"

[orangehoodie]

[Ken is a little grateful they were allowed to be armed on this trip as he hops out of the bus after the blond girl and casts a glance toward the armory, seeing smoke billowing into the sky from its general direction. If he didn't have his spear now, he probably wouldn't have been able to get it at all. He glances back in time to see the girl swatting at a bird, sees the gash on her face and the blood on her sleeve. Without hesitating, he kicks off the ground and raises his spear, swinging down and slicing -- disintegrating that bird before it can escape.

He looks back at the bus -- was Minato off of it yet? and the others? -- before he runs up to the girl. He tries to see where she's looking at. He counts the arrows in her quiver. She'll have to get new ones soon...

He swings his spear at another incoming bird before catching up, speaking a little loudly so he knows she'll hear]

You're going to the archery range, right? I'll back you up.

[pauciloquent]

[He doesn't hear any kind of warning, naturally. But he does see that she's moving, and so what he does is, he watches her back as she does. She's done as much for him.

So Nicolas follows suit, and fends off the diving pigeons that she doesn't catch with her arrows in time. After all, she's only got the one pair of eyes and so many arrows.]

[bibliophilism]

Eeeek!

[Michelle shields her face with one arm as she slashes at several metal pigeons; she's not at all used to wielding a single blade and feels a bit vulnerable as she fights off the crazy birds. Sure, she was a fighter, but she was still best with a bow and arrows. A Celestial Bronze sword was well and good, but it wasn't good at all for ranged or distance attacks.

Upon spying Fuu, she cuts down a bird that had decided to swoop down on her and winces as its feathers cut her sword arm, and runs toward her.]

If only I had my bow...!

Open!

[anythingwithstrings]

You would think after a man-eating giant tried to kill you, you'd be prepared for things. That after a long trip to NYC and Olympus going back to the simple little camp to teach demi-gods how to... okay, so simple and little were the wrong words, but she wasn't expecting this! The camp on fire and being attacked by angry birds.

The pigs got a very raw deal in that game.

Maya hugged her guitar case as she tried to decide if she should help. She wasn't properly armed for this, six knives wasn't a quiver of arrows. Most of the heavy lifting with the Giant was done by Akihiko, maybe she should stay back and help the wounded.

(OOC: Someone suggest her guitar might help deal with the birds.)

[little_lost_lizard]

Ssil had been getting quite a bit of use out of Grindle's vocabulary at camp. She knew a manticore when she sees one, at least by reputation, and she knew just how bad an idea messing with one was. And of course they had to, because otherwise they were in serious trouble.

She was so glad she'd packed her gloves and her goggles with her; she pulled them on quickly, to try and protect herself a little from the birds. Hopefully they'd work as well against metal feathers as broken glass. "I wish I'd gotten working on some sort of alchemical weapons," she muttered. "I talked about them with Akihiko... oh, well, too late now."

She looked up at the emergency exit in the roof of the bus, then toward the one in the back. "I think I may go out that way and try to sneak around. How sharp are a manticore's senses?"

ota ; thick of the fray

[pauciloquent]

[He can see it's a disaster already. The fire, the smoke, the wrong-looking birds.

And the Bigger Problem.

Nicolas is one of the first out of the bus, sword in hand, beelining for the manticore. There's really no time for strategy right now. Not with that thing on the lawn.]

thick of the...fray?

[daughteroflight]

[ hey Nic, you know what you might possibly need? backup, in the form of a non-fighter chick with a few defensive skills.

DG's off the bus right quick because "non-combat" her pert and perky ass. she zips forward on swift feet, clutching her dagger and wishing she had her spear.

should the manticore do its tail-flick thing and unleash its poison spikes, DG will be behind Nic and throwing up a rainbow shield to try and deflect them. he'll love that, she's sure of it. ]

Open

[neutralally]

Okay, so this wasn't the kind of welcome home party Worick had been expecting. He hangs back on the bus for a few additional minutes and lets the better trained, heavy hitters take the floor first while he watches. He hadn't liked the looks of those birds when he'd first spotted them and he decidedly likes them even less after they start dive bombing the campers.

He calls out to everyone on the bus to make sure their windows are rolled up and double checks them before quickly making the way off the bus himself. Worick grips his dagger tightly as he becomes to the object of attention for a few of the birds. As soon as they come into range he begins lashing out. He barely manages to slash up one as another gets away and starts tearing at his arm, ripping up the fabric of his shirt.

"Damn it, this is a new shirt, asshole!"

[little_lost_lizard]

There is no way Ssil should have been able to move as quietly as she did, particularly since she'd been right behind Worick getting off the bus. Stealth powers, yay. In any case she suddenly comes into view making a rather surprising jump to slash at one of the birds trying to get away and succeeding mostly because it failed to see her coming.

She dashes over to help him, and while her first strike glances off one of the birds' feathers they've at least got their attention divided now.

If he happens to be listening, he might hear her mutter, "Really wish I still had a tail."

[vedaandme]

Tieria had not been expecting weird monsters. He'd heard about some, sure, but actually seeing them real and alive was quite another thing. He quickly gathered his senses, knowing on a base level that these creatures were supremely dangerous and that they were going to have to act quickly and in coordination with one another to get out of this alive.

"Get down, now!" he yelled, hoping to snap anyone in a panic into at least attempting to protect themselves instead of standing there gaping and frozen. He grabbed one of the blades that was still in reach in order to defend himself. He considered his options, not really overly familiar with sword play and ancient weapons, and really wishing he had a gun to give him better chances. Still, though, it was better than being completely unarmed.

It was time to take a stand.

[bibliophilism]

Michelle spotted Tieria somewhere in the fray after managing to grab a bow and arrows from the armory. She ran toward him, ducking and fighting off any of the birds that got too close to her with the Celestial Bronze sword that she had brought with her to New York City. The bow was still on her back with her quiver; she could shoot while running, but she would rather save her shooting for when she had a good vantage point and had put enough distance between her and much of the rabble.

She positioned herself at his back and let an arrow fly from her bow after sheathing her sword. It took down a Stymphalian bird diving down toward them, and Michelle took a few steps to the side to make sure she wasn't anywhere near the carcass or its metal feathers. Michelle wasn't about to get cut again after getting pecked and scratched and cut all over her arms and face.

[OPEN]

[bibliophilism]

[Michelle had managed to reach the armory, but not without sustaining several injuries. Her shirt and pants are torn in some places and dirty in others, her long blond hair is tousled, her arms are bleeding, her hands are a bit burned, and her face is scratched. But at least she now has, in addition to her sword, a bow and a quiver of arrows that she had grabbed from the armory.

Now she took aim at the manticore. It shot a venomous spike toward her, but she quickly dodged it, stepping nimbly to her right before loosing an arrow at her enemy. A Stymphalian bird took this opportunity to fly straight toward her face; Michelle swatted it away with her bow, drew her sword, and stabbed it before focusing on shooting the manticore again.]

[voice_of_fire]

[He made it to the armory and was on his way back to Shusei when he saw her. Damn it... This was Shusei's sister, Hotsuma only spent a second or two hesitating before he rushed in.

A bird to her left seemed to spot her and the boy moved in smooth and natural with the sword. An easy upward slice to knock it away from her as she set up for her shot.]

Shoot it, I've got these....

[There is a difference here, this is what Shusei sees. The young man who will jump in without thought to himself. The one who was actually a good man beneath the grumbling exterior.]

OTA; Finally getting claimed if possible.

[cradle_robbing]

Xanxus did not give too much of a fuck about the camp or other campers. But, a fight was a fight and he was never one to pass that up. He armed himself and was in the midst of it all. It was a beast against beast the way he moved, relentless. Blood covered the teenager, his blade, his fist, his face. It was all marked with blood.

Eyes glared a hard red, rage rolled in waves around him. Bloodlust seemed to ooze from his very pores. The smirk was a predator, one who had found enough ample prey to have some fun.

OTA; Claiming going to happen here too if I can make it.

[voice_of_fire]

Hotsuma had one objective from the moment the attack started, protect Shusei. His partner still lay comatose and this was one thing that motivated Hotsuma from his side. A trip to the armory and a few skirmishes back to the Big House where Shusei lay sleeping.

The roof is gone.....


"Shusei!" Hotsuma is in a manic mode, anything and anyone in his way seen as a blockage. Who would have done this, who let these beast in. Someone here wanted to cause problems, someone here wanted to hurt them.

He was not surprised as his feet pounded the stairs, he found his partner, unharmed to his relief. He lifted the other, still holding tight to the weapon in his hand. When he shouldered the other he grimaced "Sorry...." Shusei would not like this if he was awake.

His form had a few injuries, blood trickled into his eye though he did not quite remember getting hit in the head. It was this way, with his unconscious partner over his shoulder that Hotsuma made his way down the stairs and out of the Big House.

Ready to fight whatever he had to.